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As a fairly new owner of an 8000NEX, I wanted to share my first impressions of the AppRadio Live app. Overall, I like the look and function of the app. The interface is clean and it's fairly easy to navigate. It seems a bit limited right now, and I wish the other AppRadio apps and main Radio functions could be accessed directly from this new space.

 

The main issue that I have right now is the intermittent connection issues each time I plug my iPhone up. Sometimes it connects, and sometimes I am stuck on the screen asking me to make sure my phone is not locked (it is not) and I have an AppRadio app running and open on the iPhone (which I do). In order to get connected, I must double click on the iPhone home button and swipe up to remove the AppRadio app from memory and relaunch it. I usually remove both the AppRadio and AppRadio Live apps from memory.

 

Another problem is having the AppRadio Live remember what I was listening to last. Right now, it remembers, but does not start playing where it left off until I press play. It should.

 

I understand the reason why the AppRadio Live apps are separate from the main radio navigation app, SD card and Sirius radio. But it would be nice to access them from this area and have them confirgable as a tile in the AppRadio Live display. I like the Live display, and access to my phones internet connection for live updates and all, but I am a user of the main radio features most of the time. Navigation, FM, Sirius and SD/USB card. So, while I do like the Live display, my main listening apps are not there. I suspect that when CarPlay comes out, this will be similar. But I also expect that when using CarPlay, my lightning connection will have more success than the awkward adapter that I need to use for AppRadio.

 

If it weren't for the connectin issues, I would not mind using Live. All of my music on my SD card is on my phone, and I like the calendar and events as well. Plus, I can easily jump back to Sirius on the main display. But again, the problem is connecting the iPhone each time without having to spend 5 minutes plugging, unplugging and removing apps from memory.

 

I would also like to see the ability to use the native navigation system with live traffic feeds on the Live interface. I don't know why I can't use the built in navigation and GPS on my 8000 for that screen. As I mentioned earlier, it's like there is no connection between the AppRadio Live system and the native radio features and functions.

 

The calendar app in Live brings in ALL calendars. I have multiple work exchange calendars and a home calendar. I have a few work calendars unchecked on my iPhone, but they display on the Live calendar display. If it is taking the calendar information from my iPhone, it should respect my default settings on my iPhone.

 

Another minor issues is when I am playing music from my iPhone with the Live interface, any manual change in songs (next song from steering wheel control) will result in a screen re-display. The display shrinks a bit then goes back to regular size. Not a big deal, it's just a bit annoying.

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I think that the connectivity consistency could be improved. I am an iOS developer, and the connection problems seem to be related to the HDMI connection. For some reason, the HU is not getting information that the AppRadio is running on the iPhone. It knows that the iPhone is connected via HDMI, but the handshake is not there sometimes for the AppRadio iPhone app. In reading the forums, I don't seem to be alone in this.

 

If the connectivity issue is inherent in AppRadio system, then the system is too flawed to use.

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All the hdmi port tells the Appradio is whether or not it is receiving a video feed. Data and control are handled via Bluetooth.

 

Are you running the iOS 8 beta? Because I am and some of your issues sound like known Appradio beta issues.

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I am running iOS 8 beta , but not on the device I am connecting from. But... I do carry an iPad Mini running iOS 8 Beta 2 with me in the car... So there may be some Bluetooth stuff going on that I am not aware of. I'll disable the Bluetooth on all of my iOS devices except the one I am connecting to the Pioneer and see if that improved connectivity.

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The AR app being blacked out when you reconnect is a known issue and will likely never be addressed. The only work around is to kill the app and re-launch. It sucks but unfortunatly it is what it is.

And that issue is on pioneer to fix. Waze for example has never done that to me. It troubles me when the third party app is more reliable than the app made by the company that designed the system.

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I agree but it probably won't get fixed. Pioneer will consider it to easy for you to just kill the app and reopen.

What interest does Pioneer have in leaving bugs simply because there's a (supposed) easy fix? I don't follow the logic. That said, if this has been a bug from the start and it hasn't been addressed, you may be right that they won't fix it. I assume it's because they can't, but I doubt they aren't fixing because there's a way around it.

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They wont devote resourses to fix a bug when there is a workaround. At leaset that has been the case with every unit I have owned over the years with similar such bugs. Thats just the way they operate. I will say they have gotten better over the last two years it seems but bad practices die hard.

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